Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Sustainable Rainwater Management in British Columbia: Mimic the Water Balance and Protect Stream Health!

Launched by an
inter-governmental partnership in 2003, the web-based Water Balance Model for British Columbia quantifies the
effectiveness of green infrastructure in accomplishing two inter-connected
goals: reduce a community’s ‘water footprint’; and protect stream
health. In January 2012, Metro Vancouver contributed $50,000 to fund further
enhancement of the WBM.

“When Kim Stephens
met with the Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee to provide us with a progress
report on the Water Balance Model and inter-regional collaboration, we were
impressed that our $50,000 grant has leveraged $250,000 in cash and in-kind
contributions,” states City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, Chair of
the Committee. His municipality was a founding member of the Water Balance
Model Partnership in 2002, and is a charter member of the Partnership for Water
Sustainability in BC.

“The Committee learned that the Water Balance
Model is a tool available to Metro Vancouver’s members so that they will be
able to more effectively and efficiently fulfil their rainwater and stormwater
management actions under our region’s IntegratedLiquid Waste and Resource Management Plan.”

“There is no formal mechanism to enable
inter-regional collaboration. We also learned that the Partnership is trying to
fill this gap by bringing together local governments around the Georgia Basin
to advance a consistent approach to rainwater management and green
infrastructure practices. Alignment should help everyone reduce risk, improve
watershed health and comply with regulatory requirements. The Committee is
looking forward to a further update this fall,” concludes Mayor Mussatto.

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About the Partnership

Incorporated in November 2010, the Partnership is an autonomous non-profit society. The Partnership had its genesis in the Water Sustainability Committee of the BC Water and Waste Association. The Partnership is helping the Province implement the Living Water Smart and Green Communities initiatives. We are doing that through shared responsibility in delivering the Water Sustainability Action Plan. Because the Partnership is the hub for a 'convening for action' network in the local government setting, we are positioned to facilitate alignment of regional and local actions with provincial goals.
We primarily work in the local government context, with a focus on community and regional planning systems, to influence uptake of strategies that will integrate decisions about use and conservation of land with water sustainability outcomes. The guiding philosophy is "design with nature".
E-BLASTS: The Partnership distributes stories to the "convening for action" network via email. E-blasts are posted here and are complete with links to supporting stories on the Water Bucket.